Letter from Paula DiPerna

Verizon Doesn’t Want Landlines

Yesterday while I was navigating Verizon’s “Customer Service” to try to set up auto-pay, I was able to get through to a human being (in itself a story of how we are being forced into AI channels, to what end? Only cutting costs for the companies involved and surely not to deliver better service…) I was told that Verizon is planning to discontinue serving all landlines in our area and allow the numbers to die.

When I asked when this would happen, I was told there was no date yet, but “soon,” and also that it was not yet clear how much notice landline users would have. On top of that, it is not clear whether Verizon will offer its fiber FIOS system to replace the copper lines, which would be an improvement and also allow people with Verizon landline numbers to retain them. As of yesterday, the person I spoke to said “it looks like no FIOS in your area.”

So this irresponsible action begs a few questions:

1) How does Verizon get away with cancelling service without full-scale notice?

2) Cutting off landlines presents a serious security and safety issue in our area, where cell service is so spotty. Many people depend on landlines as back-up, especially where this is no cell service and no plans to improve that either.

Given increasingly wild storms, #2 is even more relevant since landlines generally do not go down when power goes down.

The New York State Public Service Commission should be ashamed if it has allowed Verizon to undertake this plan without public hearing and debate.

How can this be better customer service? It’s the opposite—Verizon is telling its landline customers to “go away, we don’t need or want you.”

Our telephone system used to be a coordinated public service and the envy of the world. Now it’s a patchwork of companies offering only what they want to offer. Decentralization has become a nightmare, other than for commercial gain of the companies involved.

Time to resist, reject, rebel?

Paula DiPerna
Cooperstown